APHELENCHOIDES-NECHALEOS N-SP AND A-PARANECHALEOS N-SP (NEMATODA, APHELENCHOIDIDAE) FROM RICE PLANTS

Aphelenchoides nechaleos n. sp. and A. paranechaleos n. sp., originall y from rice stems from Sierra Leone and Vietnam respectively, are desc ribed and figured. Their general appearance and biology are very simil ar to those of A. besseyi Christie, 1942 but the females of the new sp ecies have a single, simple tail mucro and a longer post-vulval sac; t he males have more robust spicules with a hooked tip and a simple tail mucro. The two new species are almost identical in appearance but dif fer slightly in female tail shape and curvature of the male spicules. Both new species swim vigorously in water, are readily cultured on fun gi and can survive drying to some extent.